I held tightly onto Axel’s hand as I watched Wyatt and Mason throw a bound and gagged Edgar into the back of their car.

Although I held his hand he kept it out of view of his brothers, I guess he didn’t want them getting the wrong impression, but it also made me question where he saw me in his life. Was I just a pet project to him? That he’d try and integrate me back into the real world? Could he even integrate me back after doing time in jail on top of being a part of an exclusive motorcycle gang? Where did he see me in his life in a month and what were his intentions?

Edgar fought against his restraints as Mason and Wyatt struggled to keep him in the trunk. Axel let go of my hand and pulled out his gun, walking over and putting it to Edgar’s head.

“If you don’t behave the police are gonna find your body in your driveway, do I make myself clear?”

Edgar slowly nodded his head. He could have called Axel on his bluff, after all Axel didn’t want Edgar dead he wanted him to give out the information he had. I think that after seeing two other men show up to his house Edgar was beginning to realize the reality of his situation.

Axel pulled his gun away from Edgar’s head and Wyatt was finally able to close the trunk.

Wyatt pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave it to Axel. “Hold onto this for now so I have a way to contact you. Just make sure you toss it by the end of the month, I’ve had that thing for too long and it’s starting to make me paranoid.”

“Will do, did you guys bring the bleach?” Axel asked as he put the phone in his pocket.

Mason went around to the back seat of the car and pulled out a large container of bleach along with a few rags.

“What’s that for?” I asked as Axel took the bleach and walked back into the house.

“Getting rid of evidence, this bastard has ties to the police, last thing we need is another reason for them to be on our asses. Bleach gets rid of DNA evidence, we’re making their job that much harder.”

I followed him inside and watched him work. It was like Axel was part of a whole different world than the one I left behind when I was sold.

He poured some of the bleach onto a rag and wiped down the counters, the door handles we touched, and the house phone he had used.

He poured some on the couch where we sat, ruining its navy blue color and giving it white spots everywhere.

He took me downstairs, ready to bleach the whole room before I held out my hand and stopped him.

I took one last look around the room, the room where I had spent the past year of my life, the room that would stay with me for years to come.

I walked over and picked a blanket up off of the floor, it was my favorite one, it gave me comfort during the harder nights. I was so attached to it I knew I couldn’t leave it behind, I felt like a child wanting to take it with me but I didn’t care.

“You sure you want a reminder of this place?” Axel said as he set the bleach down.

“I know I’ll never be able to forget this place, it’ll always be in my dreams and in the back of my mind. At least if I have the only thing that brought me comfort these past few years then those bad memories won’t be so bad…”

I looked back at the room, at the shitty bed that I slept on, at the peeling wallpaper that revealed a cinderblock wall that I occasionally drew on with pieces of cement as if they were chalk just to pass the time. Part of me knew that it would be hard to leave this place because it was all I knew for the past year and a half, but the other part of me felt as light as a feather knowing that I was now free and that I had someone strong and dedicated willing to help me.

I handed the blanket to Axel and picked up the container of bleach myself. I walked over to my bed and began pouring it all over the mattress and sheets, watching it stain and ruin what used to be my only possessions. I walked over to the few pieces of furniture in the room and began dousing them with the remaining bleach, making sure to get as much as I could. As it washed away any sign that it was me who used to live here it also felt as if I was washing away the bad memories, as if I maybe could make it in the regular world one day.

Axel came and took the now empty bleach container from me, rubbing my back to comfort me.

“Did you give your cell one last look before you left?” I asked him.

“Yeah, yeah I gotta say I did.”

I could tell that he was lying but even if it was a lie it comforted me, made me feel like I wasn’t as crazy as I thought I was.

“Now come on, let’s get out of here.”